Two unions are alleging a conflict of interest involving National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Member William Emanuel should invalidate the NLRB’s recent decision in Caesars Entertainment Corp. d/b/a Rio All-Suites, 368 NLRB No. 143 (2019), in which the Board overruled Purple Communications, Inc., 361 NLRB 1050 (2014). Caesars Entertainment held that employees do not have a statutory right to use company email for union or other protected activity.

At the time Caesars Entertainment was decided, Purple Communications was on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Member Emanuel’s former firm has represented Purple Communications since 2017 in that case. In light of its decision in Caesars Entertainment, the NLRB subsequently asked the Court to remand Purple Communications to the Board “for further consideration consistent with its Decision in Caesars Entertainment.”

This all-too-familiar situation is a reminder that, early in Member Emanuel’s tenure, the Board had to withdraw its joint employer Hy-Brand ruling, which overruled the Obama-Board’s Browning-Ferris decision, in part because Emanuel’s former firm represented staffing firm Leadpoint, which directly employed the workers who were allegedly jointly employed by Browning-Ferris. Hy-Brand Industrial Contractors, Ltd., 366 NLRB No. 93 (2018).

The unions’ allegations come as the NLRB is reworking its recusal rules in response to Emanuel’s improper participation in the Hy-Brand decision. In Caesars Entertainment, after consulting with the Agency’s ethics official, Emanuel determined that he did not have to recuse himself. The Board noted that Emanuel’s former firm did not represent any party in Caesars Entertainment and that Emanuel believed his participation would not cause a reasonable person with knowledge of the facts to question his impartiality.

The unions disagree. The charging party in Caesars Entertainment, an affiliate of the International Union of Painters & Allied Trades, filed a Motion for Reconsideration of the Board’s decision on January 9 on the basis that the decision is invalid because of the purported conflict of interest. The Communications Workers of America (CWA), the charging party in Purple Communications, filed a Motion to Intervene and for Reconsideration in Caesars Entertainment on the same basis. The CWA also filed an Opposition to the Board’s Motion to Remand Purple Communications with the Ninth Circuit citing conflict of interest grounds. The CWA further argues that Purple Communications should not be remanded because, if Emanuel recuses himself, a remand would be to a two-person Board, since there are currently only three members of the Board (Members Emanuel, Kaplan, and Chairman Ring), and a two-Board could not decide this case.

While even the union has expressed doubts the Board will grant its Motion for Reconsideration, employers should stay tuned to see what effect, if any, this has on the Caesars Entertainment decision.

Howard M. Bloom is a Principal in the Boston, Massachusetts, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He has practiced labor and employment law representing exclusively employers for more than 36 years.

Mr. Bloom counsels clients in a variety of industries on labor law issues.

Howard M. Bloom is a Principal in the Boston, Massachusetts, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He has practiced labor and employment law representing exclusively employers for more than 36 years.

Mr. Bloom counsels clients in a variety of industries on labor law issues. He trains and advises executives, managers and supervisors on union awareness and positive employee relations, and assists employers in connection with union card-signing efforts, traditional union representation and corporate campaigns, and union decertification campaigns. He also represents clients at the National Labor Relations Board in connection with bargaining unit issues, objections and challenges, as well as unfair labor practice investigations and trials. Mr. Bloom also has been the spokesperson at countless first and successor contract collective bargaining negotiations, and regularly advises on collective bargaining agreement administration issues, including grievance/arbitration issues.

Mr. Bloom has appeared before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, several U.S. District Courts, the National Labor Relations Board, the Massachusetts Labor Relations Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

Mr. Bloom speaks frequently to employer groups on a wide range of labor and employment law topics. He also has written extensively on labor and employment law for a variety of publications, including New England Business magazine, The Boston Globe and the Boston Business Journal. He also is editor of and a frequent contributor to the Jackson Lewis Labor & Collective Bargaining Blog.

While attending law school, he was the Executive Editor of The Advocate: the Suffolk University Law School Journal and President of the Student Bar Association.

Mr. Bloom is a diehard baseball fan. His first book, The Baseball Uncyclopedia: A Highly Opinionated Myth-Busting Guide to the Great American Game, was published in February 2006.

Jonathan J. Spitz is a Principal in the Atlanta, Georgia office of Jackson Lewis P.C. and he is the national co-Coordinator of the Firm’s Collegiate and Professional Sports industry group.

Mr. Spitz coordinates Jackson Lewis’ labor practice for the Southeast region of the United States. He understands the practical and operational needs of clients, helping design pragmatic strategies to minimize risk and maximize performance. He was selected as a “Leader in the Field” by Chambers USA in 2009 and 2010.

He has represented management in numerous counter-organizing drives and participated in dozens of unfair labor practice proceedings, discrimination charges and other matters before the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and various federal and state administrative agencies, as well as in collective bargaining, arbitration and in employment litigation before state and federal courts. Mr. Spitz regularly counsels employers in employee relations and discipline and discharge matters, and also assists employers in drafting employment policies and in complying with the Family and Medical Leave Act, drug testing laws and regulations, the Americans with Disabilities Act and other federal and state employment laws.

Mr. Spitz has extensive experience in assisting employers to create union and litigation avoidance strategies suitable to the individual organization, values and industry. He has led teams conducting multi-facility labor vulnerability assessments and has advised employers in responding to corporate campaigns and demands for card check and neutrality.

Mr. Spitz is a contributing author of Employer’s Guide to Union Organizing Campaigns, Aspen Publishers, 2007. In addition, he has authored many articles regarding labor and employment law issues which have appeared in national trade publications.

Mr. Spitz is admitted to practice in the Second, Fourth, Sixth, Eleventh and District of Columbia Circuit Courts of Appeals; the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia; and the Georgia Supreme Court.

He received his Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Tufts University in 1990. He earned his J.D. from Emory University in 1993

About Jackson Lewis

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